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Kovac and the deep runs (daily newspaper Junge Welt)

Waiting for Bayern: VfL Wolfsburg coach Nico Kovac

An impressive series came to an end with VfL Wolfsburg’s 2-1 defeat at 1. FC Union Berlin in the round of 16 of the DFB Cup. Wolfsburg coach Niko Kovac had previously won 16 cup games in a row. With another success, the 51-year-old would have drawn level with the legendary coach Hennes Weisweiler.

Did not work. And so the dream of the final in Berlin ended relatively early for Wolfsburg. VfL also suffered a defeat in the Bundesliga last weekend. Another series broke. Before the 1: 2 at SV Werder Bremen, the Lower Saxony had won six games in a row and also remained unbeaten eleven times in a row in all competitions.

A relegation candidate

The team had managed to play their way up from the lower regions of the table within reach of the international places. The start of the Bundesliga season, however, went badly for Wolfsburg with just one win in seven games. The attack hardly created any chances, the defense was not solid. In short: Wolfsburg was basically a relegation candidate when Kovac took over as coach.

It would be good if the team took an example from the earlier playing style of Kovac and his brother Robert, the native of Berlin said at the time. Both stood as professionals for struggle, will and commitment. Maybe the players were listening? In any case, the Wolfsburg team are currently leading the Bundesliga statistics for completed sprints and intensive runs.

It’s exactly the kind of football Kovac wants to see. “The team that runs the most depth is also the one that creates the most chances,” he said at the press conference after the 3-2 win over VfB Stuttgart in early October. The last-minute success – Yannick Gerhardt only scored the decisive goal in injury time – was the prelude to the (temporary) high.

Last but not least, this flight of fancy was characterized by an impressive efficiency in goal completion. According to the Expected Goals rating of understat.com Wolfsburg has scored almost ten more goals than the team should have scored in terms of the quality of the chances.

Last but not least, Wolfsburg’s relative stability is due to their defence, where Dutchman Micky van de Ven, for example, has become a real pillar. Wolfsburg conceded just one goal during their six-game winning streak. With van de Ven, fellow defender Sebastiaan Bornauw, goalkeeper Koen Casteels and midfielders Maximilian Arnold and Gerhardt, Kovac has obviously found a functioning axis. The second youngest team in the Bundesliga can definitely play a role in the fight for international places.

What is lacking, of course, is consistency – also at club level. With Mark van Bommel and Florian Kohfeldt, two coaches were worn out last year. Oliver Glasner had previously led Wolfsburg to the Champions League, but left the club of his own free will after just two years for Eintracht Frankfurt. In addition, the right decisions were not always made when assembling the team. Conclusion: Despite the financial support from the Volkswagen Group, the sporting results in the past have been comparatively poor. In the 2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons, Wolfsburg was only able to avoid relegation in relegation.

Back on track

The commitment of Jörg Schmadtke as Managing Director Sport then ensured a certain stabilization from the summer of 2018. Schmadtke, who is not considered the easiest of his time, retired after the cup game against Union. His position is now taken over by former sports director Marcel Schäfer. He is followed by Sebastian Schindzielorz, who had proven himself at VfL Bochum.

So everything seems to have been clarified at the official level. In terms of sport, on the other hand, the question arises as to whether Kovac and his team will find their way back on track quickly enough after two defeats in a row. FC Bayern Munich is waiting next Sunday.

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